Artillery ship
The artillery ship is able to provide great fire support during long-range engagements. It is also very good at weakening enemy formations. Its weak to close engagements. Note: the Artillery cannot use non-Artillery skills while sieged up, and will lose all of its shields. =How to Play= The Artillery is one of the most difficult classes to play. It loses its shields when it sieges up, making it the most fragile class. It also needs many upgrades before it becomes truly good. However, once it us upgraded, it can be the most vital asset to a team, and can wear down anything, even bases, from very far away. It may be best to stay at a relatively safe location, such as behind a turret, and farm minions for a few tech levels. Properly made Support Ship nests are generally good places to stay. The most important skill as an Artillery is battle awareness. You absolutely need to know when its time to unsiege and leave. You also need to be aware of incoming sneak attacks from enemy ships if you are even somewhat exposed. It's a challenge even to know how close you should get before sieging up, or if the battle up ahead is even worth setting up behind. The bottom line: you need to know how long a battle will last, and the capabilities of the enemy to circumvent the battle. For this reason, Artillery should generally not be tried by a novice player. Artillery ships are highly specialized ships, and aren't really reasonable to use in smaller games (generally best for 5v5 or 6v6). =Stats= Hull Turrets =Skills= Ultimate Targeting support Type: Artillery The dispersion radius of the artillery ship is set to maximal precision for the next 3 shots. Cooldown: 300 seconds Unique skills Fusion shells Type: Artillery *Radius: 30 units *Duration: 15/17.5/22.5/30 seconds *Damage: 50/57.5/72.5/95 damage per second to shields *Cooldown: 75/72.5/67.5/60 seconds Frag shells Type: Artillery *Radius: 20 units *Special: Slow by 0/15/30/45% for 6 seconds *Damage: 450/517.5/652.5/855 *Cooldown: 60/57.5/62.5/45 seconds Gauss shells Type: Artillery *Special: Targets hit by the gauss shell cannot move or cast skills for 0/1/2/3 seconds. *Damage: 350/402.5/507.5/655 ignoring armor. *Cooldown: 60/57.5/62.5/45 seconds Nanite shells Type: Artillery *Radius: 15/16.5/19.5/24 units *Duration: 15/17.5/22.5/30 seconds *Damage: 30 damage per seconds to structure, ignoring armor. *Cooldown: 75/72.5/67.5/60 seconds =Builds= Basic *Gauss Shell 0/1/2/3 *Fusion Shell 3 *Frag Shell 3 *Forcefield/Quantum Beacon/Quantum Leap/other utility skill 0 Items *Speed/Hull *Range *Disruptive Turrets/Plasma Turrets Upgrade Priority 1. Range 2. Shield Crit (for the shot speed) 3. Rate of Fire 4. Damage (to at least level 2 to kill creeps more easily) 4. A single level of Hull Crit 4. Hull/Speed/etc. Tips * Siege up with H, press left Alt to see the overlay. * Don't use Artillery in a game smaller than 5v5 (4v4 might work, but this is pushing it). * Keep an eye on the battle. If it suddenly goes bad, get ready to unsiege and back off. * Keep an eye on your health if there is an enemy Artillery nearby. If it drops, you might be getting hit by them. * Watch the minimap as much as you can to keep an eye out for ambushes, especially if you're alone. * In general, an artillery that lands a Gauss shot on another artillery first will destroy them first. * Try setting up behind a turret to make it harder for enemies to attack you. * Support ships are an Artillery's best friend. They should set up turret nests for the Artillery to hide in to attack the enemy. * Leveled up Radar Beacons will allow you to fire tremendous distances. * Try not to move the firing template around more than necessary, as this expands the dispersion radius. * Frag shot can take out creeps in two closely positioned lanes simultaneously. * Frag shot can help you land Gauss shot. * Don't obsess too much over landing the Gauss shot. * If you're leveled up enough, you might be able to attack the enemy base from a safe distance. * Beware, an Artillery unsieged has less firepower than a Corvette. Category:Ships